Trust us, those calls aren’t from Grasshopper, and we’re working to stop the spam call issue. We hate spammers just as much as you do!
We’ve received quite a few reports from customers about “Grasshopper spam calls,” which brought our attention to the growing problem of caller ID spoofing and robocalls.
We want to take this opportunity to explain what these things are, why they happen, how to prevent them and what we’re doing about it.
What is caller ID spoofing?
Caller ID spoofing is the act of using a fake telephone number on caller ID, thus masking the real ID and number of the caller. We are receiving reports that people are receiving calls from “us” when in fact someone is spoofing our caller ID to make it appear as though it’s us. NOT COOL.
In 2009, the FCC signed the Truth in Caller ID Act into law which bans caller ID spoofing with the intention to harm, deceive or mislead someone.
What are robocalls?
Robocalls are 100% automated and can range from a phone call that plays a prerecorded message to dead air. We’ve even seen some calls that are just music when you pick up.
These unsolicited calls are more difficult to squash than caller ID spoofing, and have recently become such a big issue in the industry that the FTC attempted to crowdsource a solution. In fact, as of last October, they tried offering $50,000 for a solution to help reduce the amount of these types of calls. While there is no way to stop these just yet, CNN offers some great solutions for the interim such as simply hanging up, or filing a complaint with DoNotCall.gov.
Most importantly, what are we doing about the caller ID spoofing and robocalls?
We’re glad you asked! We’ve contacted our carriers and they’ve assured us they’re doing everything they can to track down the responsible parties.
Our carrier told us:
-
This is a widespread issue in the industry
-
They spoof different numbers on every call making it impossible to block the individual numbers
-
Our carrier is working with their legal and law enforcement team to trace the calls back to where they originate.
What should you do if you’re getting spam calls?
We’re working with our customers on a one off basis and doing our best to block these numbers. If you notice something like this happening on your account, please submit a ticket to us or give us a call at 800-279-1455 so we can address it to the best of our ability.
Some relevant articles that might be of interest to you:
-
Who’s fooling your caller ID? - Komonews
-
How swatting works -The PBX Blog
-
Hate illegal robocalls? FTC offers $50,000 to help stop them - CNN